How creative is creativity??

[Madhuri]

I have often wondered are there any limits to creativity, can it be bound under rules and regulations. Is it possible to instruct a writer or any artist for that matter to follow certain rules of creativity.

Binding creativity under rules is surely ensuring the death of creativity in a person. I believe creativity has no boundations and the more freedom it gets the better it would be.

What do you think?

I have come across such situations, in my career especially when I was told to write the summaries beginning with a certain letter, how I had to unlearn grammar and follow rules of how and where to use consonants and vowels. And yet I was told to write it in my own words. How creative can a person be within boundaries.

It is like a bird without wings.

Is being structured creative. Is there no creativity in randomness. I am not sure.

-madhuri:confused:

[papayahed]

At a previous job they had an operating procedure for brainstorming sessions. Talk about stifling creativity!!!!! The procedure was mostly laughed at, kinda sounds like a Dilbert cartoon.

[Whifflingpin]

Some random responses:

We are never creators, only sub-creators.

From Koestler, "The Act of Creation," creativity consists of making associations that were not previously seen.

Creativity does not require (or thrive in?) a boundless void - consider that poets return to the strict framework of the sonnet, for instance, as a vehicle for their creativity, as composers, even modern composers, feel the need to explore the possibilities within the boundaries of the requiem mass.

[ClaesGefvenberg]

What do you think?I think the attached mindmap fits this discussion well... I wrote it as a summmary of a discussion on how to promote creativity, in another forum. I can post the link here, if that is ok with the moderators?

/Claes

[Logos]

That's fine Claes :) I'm sure it will help some get a different perspective on how they approach their thinking.

[ClaesGefvenberg]

That's fine Claes :) I'm sure it will help some get a different perspective on how they approach their thinking.Thank's. The map will make a lot more sense after reading the thread. I just wanted to ask beforehand to avoid stepping in something smelly :D Here goes: The thread in question is How do we promote creativity? What are the Key Factors? (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=6953) and can be found at The Elsmar Cove Forums (http://elsmar.com/Forums/) which deals with (among other things) Quality, environmental and H&S Management systems.

/Claes

[Logos]

Ah I see, well I thought you were asking if it was ok to post a link to the map, not the forum, but nevermind.. :p

[mono]

To begin, in my opinion, creativity only has limits to an individual's mind; the source of creativity seems the greatest subject worth debating - others' creativity, people, nature, religion/spirituality, philosophy, . . . the sources seem endless, seeming either internal or external.
I cannot detest the limiting of creativity enough, nor can I express it in words. I have taken multiple poetry classes (studying others' poetry), but have only taken one poetry writing class - only one, particularly because a professor instructed us only to write free verse. Of course, having nothing against free verse poetry, I cannot write it to save my life; others who know me well on the forum seem very aware of this fact, as I primarily write rhyming verse and plays. Throughout the term of that class, I simply maintained my rhyme, but placed a non-rhyming word or an almost-rhyme at the end of every line, still ending the term with a low 'A,' but without my instructor's affinity for me. :rolleyes:
In essence, I believe an individual limits his/her own creativity through perception of potential/actual sources of inspiration, cognition, personality, optimism/pessimism, and behavior.

[ClaesGefvenberg]

Ah I see, well I thought you were asking if it was ok to post a link to the map, not the forum, but nevermind.. :pAh... Oops. Maybe I have to learn to express myself more clearly in the future. Anyway there are also a few links to this site there...

Anyway, onwards with the creativity discussion... The subject is a pet interest of mine.



/Claes

[amanda_isabel]

well i have tried 'being creative within boundaries' and it's tougher than being creative period. but i see it as another chance to explore this part. you could learn from it, you know.

[Shannanigan]

The best poetry I have ever written was poetry in which I had set restrictions for myself. I never discovered this phenomenon until junior year in high school, where my Writing Techniques teacher gave us five things that HAD to be mentioned in a poem we were to write ("a color" was one "a nickname" another...I think "a type of food" was there too...). The poem that resulted in my notebook was by far one of my favorite pieces by myself...and was well admired by my class and teacher. I think that the examples above, like the return to sonnets, also serve as great examples.

The key here is not limiting creativity itself, but limiting yourself creatively, if that makes sense. Think about it...if fantasy writers never set boundaries to what their characters and settings were capable of, how would novels ever get written? A love-smitten wizard can't create potions that force someone else to love him because if he could, there would be no story, he would just do it. Writers and all artists, musical, visual, culinary...all have to accept and even sometimes project limitations on themselves to produce their best works. An artist is limited to the surface area of their canvases, and perhaps the preferences of a client/clientelle, and may choose to limit themselves to landsacpes, portraits, or certain colors to express mood...

Chefs in restaurants must stick to menu items, and on nights where they get to make up new specials...they can't throw every spice they have into a plate...they limit themselves to achieve a taste they have in mind...

Musical artists often limit themselves to a genre, and those who don't, or who create their own genre, still produce music (usually) that you can hear and go...oh! That's the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, isn't it? The artists are being creative within the boundaries they've set on themselves...whether those boundaries be instrument usage, or something else...

[AimusSage]

It seems to me creativity has to be channeled. Unchanneled creativity is bound to loose focus.

Setting up bounderaries and restrictions encourages creative thinking, as it requires someone to think and act in ways they didn't have to before.